Kim pulled up Williams's financial records and ran a screen share so Miles and Vic could see them."I've got credit card statements going back five years.I’ll do a quick scan for jewelry purchases."
Miles watched as she scrolled through pages of transactions from a laptop in DC.Williams had expensive tastes across the board.Designer suits, high-end restaurants, luxury hotels.The man spent money like he was trying to prove something.
"Here," Kim said, coming to a stop with the scrolling."Whitmore Auction House.Two years ago.There’s a charge for sixty-two thousand dollars."
"That's the watch," Vic said."Marshall told us Williams bought it there."
"Right but look at the description on the receipt."Kim enlarged the image."Rolex Daytona, platinum, purchased from existing inventory.It wasn't custom-made."
Miles leaned closer to the screen."So, he bought it off the shelf.Or off the display case, anyway."
"Well, yeah…remember what Linhart said.Rolex manufactures their own platinum pieces," Vic said."You can find the exact model online.I'm looking at it right now.Retail price is around sixty thousand.So, that matches what Williams paid."
"So, the watch wasn't bespoke," Miles said."Which means the connection to Rothschild isn't through a shared jeweler who custom-made both their pieces."
Kim was already running another search."What about the wedding band?Fiona said he had it plated in platinum three years ago.Let me see if there's a record of that."
Kim started scrolling again, digging through Williams's credit card history for that year.There were charges to various jewelers but nothing that specifically mentioned platinum plating.
"He could have paid cash," Vic suggested.
"Maybe,” Miles said.“Or maybe it's too small a charge to stand out among everything else he was buying."Kim kept searching."Wait.Here's something.A charge to a place called Ashford Fine Jewelers.Five hundred dollars, dated three years ago this month."
Miles felt something click, his brain dredging up something he’d seen recently.He grabbed the jeweler list and scanned down the names."Ashford Fine Jewelers.That's on Marshall's list.They made one of Rothschild's pieces."
"Which piece?"Vic asked.
Miles checked his notes from the Whitmore meeting."A necklace.Forty-carat diamond set in platinum filigree.Marshall said the craftsmanship was extraordinary."
Vic was already typing furiously."Let me look up Ashford Fine Jewelers.See what I can find."
A few seconds later, she had pulled up several news articles."Okay, this is interesting.Ashford Fine Jewelers was an ultra-exclusive Manhattan establishment.Family-owned, been around since the 1950s.But they went out of business two years ago."
"Why?"Miles asked.
"Fraudulent practices,” Kim called out from her screen, having also gone down that same road.“According to this article, the owner was caught selling conflict diamonds and misrepresenting the origin of gemstones.When clients found out, they sued.The business went bankrupt and shut down."Kim scrolled through more results."There's a whole scandal here.Lawsuits, criminal charges, the works."
Vic looked up from her laptop."So, Rothschild had a custom piece made by Ashford before they shut down.And Williams might have had his wedding band plated there around the same time."
"We can't confirm Williams used them for the plating," Miles said."The charge is vague.But the timing fits."
Vic pulled up another article, this one with a photograph.It showed an elegant storefront on Fifth Avenue with gold lettering on the windows.The caption read:Ashford Fine Jewelers closing after 65 years following fraud allegations.
"They catered to the wealthy," Kim said."Look at this client list that came out during the lawsuits.CEOs, celebrities, socialites.Everyone who was anyone in Manhattan had jewelry from Ashford."
Miles studied the photograph."And then they got caught cheating their clients and the whole thing collapsed."
"The owner went to prison," Kim said, reading from another article."Claudia Ashford.She got five years for fraud and racketeering."
"What about the employees?"Vic asked."What happened to them when the business shut down?"
Kim searched for more information.He watched her working feverishly "I'm not seeing specific names.But if the business went bankrupt, everyone would have lost their jobs.Jewelers, designers, salespeople, everyone."
Miles walked to the whiteboard and wrote "Ashford Fine Jewelers" in the center.He drew lines connecting it to both Rothschild and Williams.As he did, Vic moved the spare laptop a bit so that Kim could see what he was doing, too.
"Let's think about this," Miles said."Ashford made high-end platinum jewelry for Manhattan's elite.Then the owner gets caught in a fraud scandal and the business collapses.Everyone loses their jobs.Clients lose their trust.The whole operation falls apart."
"And someone who worked there blames the wealthy clients," Vic said, following his logic."Maybe he sees them as corrupt people who were willing to buy conflict diamonds without asking questions."
